Ford was born in Cheshire, Connecticut and moved to Burton, Ohio with his parents in 1804.

[2] Ford graduated from Yale in 1825, returned to Ohio, and read law under the direction of his uncle, Judge Peter Hitchcock.

[3][4] While practicing law, Ford became involved in the state militia and was promoted to the rank of major general.

[4] After serving in the General Assembly, Ford was elected to the governorship in late 1848, by a margin of 311 votes out of nearly 300,000 cast.

His term was marred by fighting in a highly partisan Assembly that was divided over issues related to slavery and the Mexican–American War, as well as by a cholera epidemic that swept through Columbus.